Catch Me When I Fall
by Jewelieishness
Summary: Mukahi Gakuto will stop at nothing to instill fear in Kikumaru's heart, and that includes seducing his captain. But then real feelings are pulled into the mess, and the line between what's real and what's a lie is blurred...[GakuTezu]
1. Chapter 1: Start

**Author's Note: Actually, no, this is not crack. I wanted to try something...unique.**

**Uh, this is the first chapter of a full-length story, so it's short. That's how my multi-chapter stories usually go...the following chapters will be very long, promise.**

**Multiple pairings on the side, too. Just to be fair, I'll warn you of some Dirty Pair hints in this chapter...but it will all dissolve into GakuxTezu. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.

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**Catch Me When I Fall

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_For everything, there's a ton of unwritten rules. But usually, nobody tells you these rules, and you've gotta figure them out yourself. One of the first ones I figured out, being an acrobatic tennis player, is to never fall into your own trap._

_Well, guess what?_

_I broke that rule.

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_

Mukahi Gakuto flipped, mid-air, and the ball connected with his racquet's sweet spot.

The umpire shouted, "15-love!"

"There it is!"

"Mukahi-senpai's Moon Salute!"

Hiyoshi, his partner, scoffed. "You'd think they be _used_ to seeing it now."

Gakuto shot the orange-haired second year a grin. "Well, it's impressive."

"Yes, it is...good job, Gakuto." Oshitari smirked from the other side of the net. "Unfortunately, I've already figured out how to seal it..."

"Just try, Yuushi," Gakuto countered, and Jirou decided that serving at this moment would be a nice idea.

Hiyoshi quickly caught up to the ball and sliced it back.

"Jirou! Lob!" Oshitari ordered. Jirou complied, setting up a perfect situation for the Moon Salute -

Gakuto returned it with a smash, disappointing Hyotei's tensai.

"Yuushi, if you say you've sealed it, I think I'll believe you."

* * *

"So in the end, Mukahi-senpai's team lost by a point in the tiebreaker?" Ootori chewed thoughtfully on his lunch.

Shishido nodded. "Oshitari sealed the Moon Salute. Or, well, maybe not, but he said he did, and Mukahi believed him."

Jirou snored softly from the other side of the table, and Atobe ate silently, gazing at a table a few meters away.

"How did Hiyoshi and Mukahi-senpai react, Shishido-san?" Ootori asked curiously, pushing a food article away with his chopsticks.

"How do you think, Choutarou?" Shishido answered, turning to face the same table Atobe'd been staring at.

Oshitari and Gakuto sat at opposite ends, Gakuto looking stubborn and pissed off, Oshitari staring at his usual doubles partner, slightly apprehensive.

* * *

"Anyway, I wanna prove, once and for all, that Seigaku's stupid excuse for an acrobatics player - "

"Kikumaru," Jirou supplied helpfully.

Gakuto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever, Kikumaru...anyway, I'm going to prove that he's inferior - "

Hiyoshi cut him off again. "You're really obsessed with him, Mukahi-senpai."

"I am _not._" Gakuto was visibly offended.

"Hiyoshi's got a point," Jirou pointed out.

"He does not." Gakuto pouted. "Anyway, any idea on what to do to prove that he's inferior?"

"Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!" Jirou squealed, left hand up in the air.

Amused, Gakuto said, "Jirou, then."

"Get someone that he respects to fall in love with you!"

Hiyoshi spit out the water he'd been drinking. "So, what, you want Mukahi-senpai to seduce, I dunno, _Tezuka Kunimitsu_?"

Gakuto's eyes glittered as the group paused by Seigaku's tennis courts. Tezuka was talking with Oishi, the vice-captain of Seigaku...

Kikumaru was chatting amiably with a group of freshmen, a big happy smile on his face...

That stupid cat-boy wouldn't know _what'd _hit him.

"Y'know, Hiyoshi, that just might work."

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**End Chapter One.

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**Reviews are appreciated. :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Doubles

**Author's Notes: Perfect Pair hints. There's also more Dirty Pair...this story is slow-paced, and I want to get my problems out of the way after they've had their fun.**

**Should I make this Tensai Pair (OshitarixFuji) on the side, or just stick to the one important pairing?**

**Also, this is set after the US arc. Let's just say they have a set of practice matches with Hyotei.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

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**Catch Me When I Fall – Chapter Two

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"Ne, Seigaku's buchou."

Tezuka looked up from where he'd been arranging his tennis bag, one eyebrow raised in question.

Gakuto grinned down at him, a racquet in his left hand. "Play a game?"

Fuji chose that moment to return from the showers, a fluffy white towel wrapped snugly around his hips. "Hyotei Gakuen's Mukahi-san? What are you doing here?"

Gakuto's smile flattened slightly. "I wanted to play Tezuka-san and _defeat _him."

"Saa...but don't you specialize in doubles?" Fuji inquired.

In reply, Gakuto simply pointed his racquet at Hiyoshi, who was standing at the door with an unconscious Jirou slung over the bench just inside.

"Tezuka doesn't play doubles," Fuji mentioned contentedly.

The captain decided that it was a good moment to cut in. "True. Though Mukahi-san did travel all the way over here...it'd be rude to reject him."

Fuji smiled widely, and his horseshoe eyes rounded even more. "Then do you want me to be your partner, Tezuka?"

* * *

"Fifteen-love," Akutagawa cried dramatically as Mukahi stole the first point. "Fuji, don't fail _now_!"

Hiyoshi grumbled, "Whose side are you on, anyway?" and promptly returned the decently sent lob with a flourish.

"Thirty-love!"

Simple return. Slice. Lob. Smash. Higuma Otoshi. The Tezuka-Fuji pair was like clockwork, consistent and never tiring. "Thirty-fifteen!"

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In the end, the Seigaku players won, 6-2. Even with the Moon Salute, Mukahi's other acrobatics, and Hiyoshi's unique style of tennis. Jirou squealed and ranted ecstatically about how _amazing _Fuji was, wasn't he, and those Triple Counters--!!

Mukahi was secretly enraged at the loss, but smiled nonetheless; "Really very amazing, Tezuka-san. That Zero-Shiki Drop Shot...no wonder Atobe had such a hard time playing you...your first time playing doubles, too..." His words were all sugar-coated lies, and he knew the other player knew it too.

Tezuka cleared his throat. "It's really nothing special. We should go now. Come on, Fuji."

"Of course." The two packed up swiftly and efficiently before leaving, not saying a word to the visitors from Hyotei.

Gakuto knew, at that moment, that this would be one of the hardest things he'd ever try to do.

Naturally, it only made him more excited.

* * *

Kunimitsu's handwriting was very neat and distinguished.

The thought came to Tezuka when he was working out the schedule for next week's practice matches with three of his most trusted friends. Fuji and Kikumaru were discussing whether Echizen or Tezuka would be Singles One, and Oishi seemed lost in his own world.

Kana characters weren't really much to work with – after all, each character had a set number of straight lines and curves.

Strangely, though, his own left hand gave the curves a sharper feel, the straight lines seemed straighter; compared to Kikumaru's curvy, slightly crooked and childish kana or Fuji's graceful characters, anyway. Oishi's handwriting was rather traditional, but had a soft edge to it...

Tezuka absently wondered what Mukahi-san's handwriting looked like, and he promptly dismissed the thoughts. Just because the redhead had chosen to challenge him to a match and then secretly fumed inside while showering him with compliments didn't mean that Mukahi had to be on his mind for the rest of the day.

But Kikumaru's rival did exhibit strange behavior today. In all of the matches Tezuka had watched with Mukahi in them, if Mukahi'd lost, he would openly rant and sulk and pout – if he won, the gloating apparently wouldn't end for weeks. Or at least that was what Atobe claimed.

Then why did he hide himself, though...? Was Tezuka really that intimidating -

"Buchou!"

Kikumaru's voice sent him back into reality. "Oh, yes? I'm sorry, I was..." Tezuka trailed off purposely. Nobody would really care about his inner musings, right?

"Right. Anyway, we've decided that Ochibi-chan will be Singles One and you can be Singles Two. We know that you can probably beat him and all, but we just don't want to risk losing you to Germany again, nya..." Kikumaru smiled sheepishly, and Tezuka caught himself before he smiled as well. Kikumaru's cheer was almost _contagious_.

'Thank you for caring,' Tezuka thought wryly, and he jotted down Echizen's surname in the Singles One slot on the paper before writing his own in Singles Two. 'Singles Two...well, it's not a new position. I played in it all the time when Yamato-buchou was here.'

The thought made him wonder what the former captain of Seigaku was now.

"I suppose Fuji will be Singles Three, then?" Oishi asked. The prodigy nodded in affirmation, and Tezuka wrote 'Fuji' out on the sheet.

"I personally think we should look at their line-up before deciding these things," Inui declared, popping up out of nowhere and sitting at their table as if they'd invited him. He produced a few stapled sheets of paper. "I worked out biographies for Hyotei, and a line-up that depends on Sakaki-san and Atobe-san's mindsets."

"Really?" Kikumaru peered over the paper. "Wow, it all makes sense, nya."

Tezuka took the packet and flipped through the pages. "Ah...you made a mistake with Doubles Two, Inui."

Fuji's eyes snapped open and he reached for the packet, which Tezuka handed over. Fuji read the lines quickly and smiled. "He's right. Apparently Mukahi-san and Oshitari-san aren't an unshakable doubles pair...Tezuka and I played the Mukahi-Hiyoshi pair after practice today."

"Wait, you mean as a doubles pair? Buchou, I didn't know you played doubles!" Kikumaru exclaimed.

Inui mumbled some things under his breath that sounded like 'I didn't either,' 'Must get more data', and 'Always changing their playing styles...' before getting up and leaving, the papers left with the three Seigaku seniors.

"I don't," Tezuka replied indifferently. "Mukahi-san asked for a game, and I didn't have the heart to turn him away. Hyotei is far from Seigaku, you know, and he was walking."

"So, what were the results?" The acrobatic player babbled, undeterred by his captain's lack of enthusiasm. "You did win, right, Fujiko-chan?"

Fuji smiled. "Six games to two."

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"Yuushi, I lost," Gakuto whined, dragging his feet behind him.

Oshitari beamed; Gakuto was finally talking to him again. "Really? Have a seat and tell me about it, Gakuto..."

The redhead complied. "Me and Hiyoshi lost six games to two against - "

"Wait, you and who?" Oshitari narrowed his eyes and adjusted his glasses in annoyance. "You ditched me for another doubles partner?"

"I did not," Gakuto answered, slightly irritated. "I thought you were busy, and I really wanted to play Tezuka - "

"You took two games from Tezuka Kunimitsu?" The hurt and betrayal gave way to pride. "Amazing, Gakuto..."

Gakuto flipped his hair. "Naturally, Yuushi. But I still lost..."

"May I please make it all better?" Oshitari asked innocently, batting his eyelashes.

Gakuto smirked. "Anytime."

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That night, Tezuka Kunimitsu had an inexplicable sick feeling in his stomach.

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**End Chapter Two.

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**I like my stories slow-paced, it seems. Reviews and concrit adored :)**

**Oh, this story will be updated every Monday at around the same time. Over here, it's 5 p.m., but I understand we don't all share the same time zone ;P So, yeah.**


	3. Chapter 3: Morning

**Author's Notes: My birthday is tomorrow...and so is the Winter Concert. How cliché. Anyway, this is the best I can do for you guys right now; I'm sorry. Writer's block is dumb. Excruciatingly short, too...****Disclaimer: I don't think Konomi-sensei was born on December 11th.

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**Catch Me When I Fall – Chapter Three

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Gakuto stretched lazily, letting out a yawn as he did so. Then the redhead realized he was shirtless and Yuushi was still sleeping next to him.

"Oh."

Gakuto picked up his forgotten Hyotei uniform top and crept silently out of the room, which was seriously not an impressive feat – after all, _he_ was not some clumsy, flippant idiot like Kikumaru.

..._Where is the bathroom? _Gakuto had seriously never been in Oshitari's house before. The genius usually came over to Gakuto's, and when it was his turn to offer a location, Yuushi always dragged Gakuto out somewhere else, like ramen stores.

Gakuto thought for a moment. _It's not like anyone else is home, right? So maybe I should just open a door at random._ Yes, that was a good idea; Gakuto reached for the closest doorknob -

And a very pretty girl with blue hair and indigo-coloured eyes stared at him, half-naked and jaw dropped.

_Oh my God, Mukahi Gakuto, what have you just done. Hey, wait, she looks a lot like Yuushi –_ Gakuto finally found his voice. "Um...right...Yuushi told me he had a sister...I'm sorry, could you just direct me to the bathroom, Oshitari-san?"

­"...A friend of Yuushi's...okay...I'm gonna kill him when he wakes up...two doors down. Now get the Hell out of my room and stop _staring_." Well, it wasn't his damn fault. Yuushi was pretty, and his sister as well.

"Yes, thank you, I'm sorry." Gakuto slammed the door shut and bolted into the washroom, sighing as his heart rate slowed considerably.

"This day is going to really suck."

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Tezuka Ayana brushed her son's forehead with the tips of her fingers. "Kunimitsu – your father took the batteries out of your alarm clock last night for something...he said it was important, though I doubt it...the time is 5:30, darling."

The boy's eyes snapped open and he groped on his nightstand for his glasses. "Ah. Thank you, mother."

Ayana smiled. "I must go assist your grandfather, please have a good day at school and come back safely." She wrapped Kunimitsu into a warm embrace, letting go after a few seconds, and calmly strolling out of his room.

The corners of Tezuka's mouth lifted slightly.

This would be a very good day.

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"Morning practice...it's way too early, though, nya, right, Fujiko?!"

Fuji grinned. "Saa."

Pouting, Kikumaru exclaimed, "And ochibi-chan isn't even here yet! He'd better get here before buchou comes, or he'll be running laps - "

"I'm right here, Kikumaru-senpai."

"Yo, Echizen!" Momoshiro exclaimed, pulling the freshman regular into a hug. "Isn't the sky such a pretty blue today?"

Kaidoh grunted. "You're suffocating him."

"Oi, are you starting a fight, Viper?"

"Ah, Taka-san, you'd better stop the fight. Here." Fuji smiled pleasantly and handed the shy boy a racquet.

"BURNING--!!"

"78.9 chance that Tezuka will - "

"Everybody, 50 laps. NOW."

...Yes, today would be a really good day.

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Gakuto shrieked in his surprise as the cold water blasted him. "Goddamn!" He quickly swiveled the hot water on, sighing in contentment as the water reached a satisfactory lukewarm temperature.

"Well, it's not like I'll be able to get to school in time...forget how early it is...can't get home, don't have proper hair supplies here...maybe I should just take off today. Atobe-_sama_ will be absolutely _livid_." He grinned maliciously, pulling a bottle of shampoo off the ledge. Then the smirk disappeared. "Wait – but then what will I do all day - "

_...Mukahi-senpai to seduce, I dunno, Tezuka Kunimitsu, _Hiyoshi's voice rang clearly in his head.

"To Seigaku it is, then."

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**End Chapter Three.

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**Reviews help, though I don't think I deserve any for this part -.-**


	4. Chapter 4: Message

**Author's Notes: Hello again, everyone! I'm actually not dead, thank you. Nor was I in a comatose state. I actually lost interest in this for a while, but it's all back now, so to redeem myself...**

**Three chapters.**

**-Laughs.- Weren't expecting that, were you? Enjoy! (Even though they're very short...)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**

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**Catch Me When I Fall – Chapter Four**

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"You ignored the parentheses," Tezuka pointed out politely. The teacher flushed and babbled apologies to his students before going back and fixing the mistake.

A female student on the other side of the room made a loud comment in response to this daily occurrence: "Tezuka-kun would be more efficient as our teacher than Sakuragi-sensei!"

Tezuka made a soft, non-committal sound in his throat as a response just as the warning bell rang. He picked up his math materials and shifted to get out of his seat.

_Chemistry next, and then tennis practice...after tennis practice, there is...nothing. Ryuzaki-sensei doesn't need to speak with me today, so I get some free time. Maybe I should go and perfect my right-handed Zero-Shiki Drop Shot._

He nodded slightly, contented with the idea that his right-hand would soon be able to perform his trump card perfectly...and opened his locker to store his math textbook.

An envelope fell out, unexpectedly – Tezuka's eyebrows raised and he picked it up.

It was solid white in colour, not like the pink stationary his fangirls tended to use. Maybe one of the other regulars were informing him of something? Perhaps it was from Fuji – the genius did like to use such unorthodox methods as sticking envelopes into lockers...

Tezuka glanced at his watch. He had four minutes until he would be late for chemistry...there was time. He carefully tore open the envelope, which revealed a sheet of paper.

'Tezuka -

Don't worry, this isn't some sort of cute little confession from one of your infinite fangirls. If I were next to you right now, I might roll my eyes at the idea...

I've been told that you're the student body president for Seigaku? If you are, then, well, you're probably very busy after school.

I personally don't care.

I'd like to see you after Seigaku dismisses. Do you know the park near your tennis courts? I expect you to be there. If you're not, I'll nag at Atobe until he gets fed up and arranges a meeting...I know no bounds, after all.

Mukahi Gakuto'

Tezuka stared at the note in disbelief, extremely amused, though his countenance showed nothing of the sort – exactly _how _did Mukahi manage to get an envelope into his locker? The last time he'd checked, Mukahi was a student of _Hyotei_, not Seigaku...

Two minutes. No time to wonder about that. Tezuka returned the letter to his locker, collected his materials, and strode off.

Needless to say, he didn't pay any attention in his lesson at all.

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Gakuto hastily sneaked past the double doors that weren't guarded – _typical of such mediocre schools – _and performed a double-flip over the Seigaku fence, clearing it without having to open the fence and possibly setting off some alarm.

On the safe cement, he breathed heavily, panting and making a note to really do something about that damned stamina.

Then he heard the sound of a guard dog bark and squealed, running out at mach speed.

The stray animal that happened to be passing watched the blur of bright vermilion curiously, then shook its head and continued in its leisurely walk.

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**End Chapter Four**

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**Date next chapter D**


	5. Chapter 5: More Tennis

**Catch Me When I Fall – Chapter Five

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Fuji was not amused when Mukahi Gakuto popped up at Seigaku a few minutes after tennis practice had ended. Neither was a certain Kikumaru Eiji, who demanded to know why Hyotei's resident acrobatic was there at Seishun Gakuen.

"I invited him," Tezuka said simply, putting his glasses on, and Kikumaru shut up. Gakuto was the recipient of many glares from Fuji, who did not want to let the matter drop yet had no choice but to.

Echizen watched the lanky acrobat fidget for a few moments, then snorted. "Che." And just like that, he retreated to the showers.

"Can we go now, Tezuka-san?" Gakuto asked, bouncing in anticipation. The stare he was receiving from a certain viper didn't have to do with anything, nope. Just pure anticipation.

But Gakuto could swear he still saw a sparkle of amusement in those honey-coloured eyes when Tezuka acquiesced, and pouted the entire way to the park.

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"But Shishido and I set off the fireworks. You should've seen it, Tezuka-san, Atobe and Kantoku were totally _stunned_! Well, for a second, anyway, then they were mad. We got a ton of laps after that, but it was totally worth it. Hyotei's never had a show like that," Gakuto said amiably, flinging his figure over a monkey bar and laughing, flushed, as he landed neatly on the grass below. "There were so many colours, and Yuushi said he liked the green fireworks the best, but I told him the blue ones were _obviously_ the coolest and then that stupid Shishido said the red ones were awesome and the blue ones were lame but then good thing Ootori-kun came and told him it wasn't nice to say that and - "

"Mukahi-san," Tezuka interrupted finally, actually extremely amused with the boy's non-stop chatter. He shifted the tennis bag on his shoulder into a more comfortable position. However, he did want to know why Mukahi had gone through so much trouble just to get him here. "Exactly why did you bring me here?" Gakuto paused, hand still poised to take hold of a second, higher bar.

"...You...you'll see," Gakuto told him, almost as if he had another, more secret reason to be spending his time with Tezuka. Tezuka thought about this. Maybe Hyotei was just trying to build friendships with other teams. Maybe they were trying to sabotage Seigaku from the inside. There were too many possibilities at the moment and he'd have to rule them out, one by one, as Mukahi's behavior revealed clues.

"Let's get ice cream," Gakuto commented almost randomly, surprising himself almost as much as he surprised Tezuka. _Well. It's really nothing. There is a nice ice cream place around here anyway, and maybe it'll get me closer to him_? He turned to Tezuka, putting his puppy eyes into effect. Even Shishido and Atobe couldn't say no when he was using these. "Please, Tezuka-san? My treat?"

Tezuka hesitated – ice cream when it was deep into autumn? Then he caught the look in Gakuto's eyes – a pleading, hopeful spark of light in dark blue irises – and gave in.

As Gakuto cheered and took his hand, literally dragging Tezuka to the store, babbling something about the biggest variety of flavours ever, Tezuka thought it couldn't possibly be _too_ bad. After all, there was _nothing_ that could beat that one trip with Fuji.

If he were a more expressive sort, Tezuka might've shivered. _No wasabi ice cream, please..._

* * *

Gakuto bounced in place while he licked his chocolate ripple cone and watched the street tennis players engage in a doubles match. Somehow, he didn't get a single speck of ice cream on himself.

Tezuka, on the other hand, simply spooned a small amount of vanilla ice cream into his mouth, and watched the amateur players contentedly.

"That kid's got awful form," Gakuto observed bluntly. "And his partner's racquet has some seriously outdated grip tape on it. The one on the other side – the receiver? I can't tell if his play style is aggressive baseliner or counter-puncher. He keeps switching, and it's annoying and no good and such a rookie mistake - "

His criticism was interrupted when the kid with 'awful form' spoke up. "Oi, you, shut up! And I bet you probably couldn't take one of us if you tried anyway, you little girly boy," he sneered, unknowingly igniting a flame with the girly comment. Gakuto had heard that one too many times, and he growled predatorily.

"You wouldn't last five freakin' minutes, punk," Gakuto spat angrily, clawing at the wire fence. "I play doubles. Otherwise I'd teach you a thing or - "

"I'll play," Tezuka offered, motioning to the tennis bag perched on his right shoulder. Gakuto's eyes widened. "I'd rather not have to deal with you on a temper tantrum. Atobe tells me it's awful." The redhead scowled, flushing slightly.

The one with questionable style asked arrogantly, "So are you gonna play or what?"

"You – yes, I will," Gakuto blurted out, left hand groping for a racquet -

And he realized that he'd left his tennis bag at home, because he hadn't expected something like this to happen. Laughing nervously, he turned to Tezuka. "You...wouldn't have an extra racquet, would you?"

Tezuka nodded, pulling out two MIZUNO LITE 2000 racquets from his bag. "Of course. One must never let his guard down."

Grinning, Gakuto took one of the racquets and quickly checked the tension – perfect, as expected from the famous captain of Seigaku.

And now it was his turn to use his catchphrase. He pointed the blue/white object at the offending four players.

"Now, I'm going to show you that there's always someone better than you out there."

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**End Chapter Five**


	6. Chapter 6: Three Racquets

**Catch Me When I Fall – Chapter Six**

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"Oh my God."

"Is it even possible to jump that high?!" the other demanded, eyes wide as he observed Gakuto's flipping and hopping.

Tezuka calmly returned the ball, scoring an easy point – the two opponents were completely enthralled with Mukahi's acrobatic play.

"Game, Tezuka-Mukahi pair, 5-0," the fourth rookie scowled darkly, glaring at the two junior high players with something akin to disgust and a grudging respect. Mukahi smirked, flicking his hair and murmuring that the game was taking far too long.

Tezuka replied softly, "We can't destroy them, it'd be bad for their morale." Mukahi turned to stare at him disbelievingly.

"D'ya seriously care about that? It's not like they're ever going to go pro anyway, the rate they're at. And I dunno about you, but they don't look like they have any potential, either. They're probably just playing tennis 'cuz they're bored and have nothing better to do." Mukahi paused for a few moments, as if he were considering something. "And when you told them you were Tezuka Kunimitsu, they didn't freak or anything. Um, hello, who in the junior high circuit hasn't heard of you?" He finished his mini-tirade by crossing his arms and stamping his left foot, a glare on his face.

"We're still alive, you know," the defender on the other side called out sarcastically.

Tezuka turned to look at the opposing players. What Mukahi said was true – none of them expressed any potential, or even a slight appreciation for tennis. He felt a sudden urge to show off – to display what tennis was all about, to light a flame of passion and desire under them. Tezuka suddenly understood Mukahi's line of reasoning; it was very brash and done without much solid thinking, but it was correct. These four needed to see tennis at its best. And maybe Mukahi wasn't thinking this way – maybe he only thought of it as revenge for that 'girly boy' comment. But Tezuka now had a goal to accomplish - he was going to make these four junior high students see tennis for what it was. And maybe they'd develop into decent players. Therefore...

"Holy _shit_, the Zero-Shiki Serve," Mukahi breathed, slightly transfixed and seemingly mesmerized by the fuzzy yellow ball rolling backwards.

"Fif...Fi...Fifteen-love," the student-turned-umpire called out.

* * *

Gakuto rolled his shoulder, walking off the street court and working out the kinks in his back simultaneously. "Tezuka-san, I hate to say this, but it's getting kind of late, and we both have school tomorrow - " 

"That's fine – oh, Mukahi-san, what excuse are you going to use for taking today off?"

Gakuto twitched, suddenly reminded. "Didn't think of that yet. And call me Mukahi, or even Gakuto if you want."

"Ah." Tezuka nodded thoughtfully. "Call me Tezuka, then. Have you used the sickness excuse yet, or the 'my family member died'?" His tone was helpful, even though his words were enough to make any Seigaku teacher faint.

Gakuto smirked, unconsciously propping the borrowed MIZUNO racquet on his shoulder. "I didn't know you had a streak of rebellion in you, Tezuka. And yes, I've apparently had chicken pox a total of three times, am very prone to colds, and fevers happen six times a month. If my teachers compared notes, they might discover that half my family is dead, too."

"It's not fun being perfect all the time," Tezuka confided dryly, making Gakuto sputter. "And that's rather interesting."

Coughing, he gasped, "Was that a _joke_? And why is that interesting?"

Tezuka tilted his head to the side momentarily. "Take it as you see it. Because you were driving Atobe insane with your constant absences."

"Wow, the stoic Tezuka Kunimitsu makes a joke, I've gotta write that down," Gakuto muttered, a smile stealing its way onto his face. "And I didn't know you and Atobe were friends. Well, I'm going to end up spending about twenty years of my life in school anyway. A few weeks...no, months off shouldn't matter _too_ much."

Tezuka opened his mouth to retort, then closed it as his cell phone rang unceremoniously. "Excuse me..." He pulled the piece of technology out of his pocket and flipped it open, pressing the earpiece to his ear. "Moshi moshi?"

"Yes...Iie...actually, if you would...oh, that's good. Thank you." Another pause. Gakuto watched, head cocked in curiosity. "No, I'm not...I'm sorry. Goodbye." Tezuka closed the flip phone, restoring it to its original place in his pocket.

"It seems I really do have to go. Thank you for your time, Mukahi."

"Oh, no, thanks for yours, Tezuka." Gakuto winked, wind picking up just in time to blow his hair around his face like a halo, and bounced off quickly.

Tezuka blinked, then turned around to head for home.

_What was that fluttery feeling...?_

* * *

"There it is!!" Horio shrieked, making Tezuka wish he'd brought earplugs. "Oishi-senpai's Moon Volley!" 

One eyebrow piqued in interest, Tezuka turned just in time to see Oishi's racquet make contact with the ball -

And not one, but _two_ of the strings snapped.

"...Good job, Momo-chan," Oishi said after a moment, in which he'd stared mournfully at his racquet. "That's...amazing. An amazing dunk smash. It's just too bad I didn't bring another racquet with me today." He turned to the captain, eyes still portraying alarm. "Tezuka, could I borrow a racquet?"

Tezuka nodded mutely, going to retrieve his tennis bag which was located in the locker room. "Of course, Oishi."

The trek was short, and Tezuka's long stride made it shorter. He reached down to unzip his tennis bag, revealing a total of two tennis racquets.

Perfect double-take. Didn't he always carry _three _racquets, just in case?

Oh, right, Mukahi'd borrowed his third last night. And...both had forgotten about it, and Mukahi accidentally took it home. Tezuka mentally face-palmed. _Fabulous. How are you supposed to get it back, Kunimitsu? _Sighing aloud, he removed the extra racquet from its position in the bag, and walked out of the locker room, handing it to Oishi as he passed Court B. _I'll just ask for it back the next time I see him. And if he realizes any time soon, he'll probably come all the way over here to return it._

* * *

Fuji walked out from behind the row of lockers, eyes open and narrowed. _Tezuka takes three racquets. There were only two in there...should I suspect him of something? But maybe he snapped a string, like Oishi did, and it's being fixed. I would be jumping to conclusions, and that's just not good. _He frowned, thinking. _Mukahi dragged him out yesterday. Why would I suspect that Tezuka's with Mukahi? It's not like Mukahi is even remotely close to Tezuka's type. Even so, you can never be too careful...the next time he comes around, I'll speak with him. _Seemingly reassured, the tensai closed his eyes again, smiling, and walked out of the locker room. 

Completely unaware that what he found impossible was starting to happen.

* * *

"Gakuto, why were you out yesterday?" Eyebrows raised, Gakuto turned to face a worried Yuushi – which was _never_ a good thing, mind you. 

Gakuto cleared his throat. As much as he hated doing this, he couldn't tell Yuushi the truth. Yuushi would immediately declare that Gakuto was committing infidelity, would nag about the safety of doing such things, and he'd probably even cite some cheesy examples from his romance novels. "Didn't feel like going to school. Sleepy." Yuushi's voice was actually very pleasant, and extremely sexy when he was whispering sweet nothings into Gakuto's ear at night. But when he complained, it was really annoying, and his Kansai-ben made everything difficult to understand. In fact, it made Gakuto thankful that _he _was actually the whiny one in the relationship –and when Yuushi started on one of his tirades, it made Gakuto yearn for a quieter boyfriend – someone who spoke only when necessary, like Tezuka-san -

Gakuto's eyes widened. _No. Don't think that way. I hate myself for thinking that way. Yuushi's loyal and nice and wonderful. Why would you think that way about him, Gakuto? Nobody's perfect, anyway. And why would you develop feelings for Tezuka? That's the only way you can screw this up. This...this whole...plot to make Kikumaru revere you..._

"Gakuto. Are you listening, Gakuto?" Yuushi's voice cut through his thoughts like a blade of steel.

He lied smoothly - "Yeah, Yuushi."

_Seduction. It's seduction. It's just seduction. Nothing more than that._

So he really didn't know why he felt butterflies in his stomach.

* * *

**End Chapter Six**


	7. Chapter 7: Perfect as an Illusion

**Catch Me When I Fall – Chapter Seven**

* * *

"Watch where you're going, dammit," Gakuto snapped as he tried to fix his disoriented bag into it's previous position on his shoulder. He stood awkwardly, stumbling over the other's outstretched leg.

"Ah, I apologize..." Gakuto froze. The voice was familiar, as well as the figure – hideously feminine, unnecessarily gentle and kind, caramel tufts of hair blowing around a face that was almost as girly as his own – not that he'd ever admit it aloud – it was Fuji Syuusuke, Seigaku's tensai.

And also the biggest obstacle in the way of gaining Tezuka's admiration. The prodigy was "absolutely smitten", as Yuushi had put it.

Unfortunately, Fuji seemed to recognize who he was, as well. "Mukahi-kun? From Hyotei?"

"Seigaku's Fuji Syuusuke," Gakuto returned civilly. _See, Shishido, I can be nice when I want to. Unlike you...I'm surprised that Ootori-kun hasn't given up on you yet._ "I didn't expect to see you here..." He gestured at the surrounding cafe as Fuji stood up. It wasn't that Fuji had no right to be there, but the shop was actually very close to Hyotei – just off its grounds, in fact. Fuji must've skipped school, or maybe just the last few classes to be there.

Fuji laughed lightly. "Well, I wanted to discuss something with you, Mukahi-kun."

_Busted_, Shishido taunted in his mind, and Gakuto had to force a smile. "Then let's, uh, get a table - "

"No need," Fuji said cryptically. "My message to you is actually very short." Gakuto gulped. Was Fuji going to deck him? Well, he wouldn't go down without a fight – all Hyotei boys were like that – and even if Fuji could own him on the tennis courts any day, off the court, Gakuto just might be able to take him -

"Maybe _you_ should 'watch where you're going'," Fuji waved his hand vaguely, his tone just the slightest bit mocking and derisive. Gakuto didn't like it. "And don't touch things that don't belong to you." With one last crystalline blue glare, Fuji left the cafe, slamming the door unceremoniously behind him.

"You should go after your girlfriend," a sympathetic Hyotei girl called from three tables away. She twirled her tie in between pliant fingers.

Gakuto didn't even want to laugh. In fact, he was too scared.

* * *

Tezuka penciled in a perfect dark circle on the answer sheet, momentarily stopping to admire the quintessential curve, then dutifully turning back to the test booklet to read the next question.

No matter what anyone – okay, maybe everyone – thought, Tezuka Kunimitsu did have feelings. One of them was hate. One of the things he hated was standardized testing.

It wasn't the testing in itself. Tezuka knew it had to be done, that it was the only way the teachers could properly determine which of their students were actually learning something and which ones were only attending to fool around. And besides, some of the reading passages were actually slightly interesting.

It was the process. The rules. Bubble in your answer choice, leave no stray marks, etc. It was all too tedious, too simple, too boring. And the written responses were a pain.

It didn't help, either, that his mind wasn't focused on the test today.

This morning, Fuji hadn't arrived at practice. Even Echizen seemed slightly surprised that the ever-present Fuji Syuusuke was skipping a day. They knew Fuji was skipping, because Fuji did not give in to diseases (as shown in the incident two years ago, when they were freshmen – poor Fuji sniffled and blew his nose all day for a week), nor did he stay home for any other significant reason. When he got into a fight in sophomore year with a senior who'd made the deadly mistake of confusing him with a girl, he was suspended for two days – and Fuji attended for those two days as well. And when asked to leave, he'd been so adamant about staying that the staff finally decided to let him stay in the office.

Fuji was the reverse of what normal children were taught: Stay home when sick, go to school otherwise. He went to school even when he was under the weather, and skipped when he felt like it.

Then again, Fuji was hardly a normal child.

Tezuka's lips twitched into a small, almost indiscernible smile (but one that Inui would point out immediately, he reflected later), and he spiraled the pencil into a neat circle.

When the class got the results back next week, he'd be pleased to find a 100 next to his name.

* * *

Oshitari Yuushi wasn't stupid. He was 'the man of a thousand skills' for a reason. And he could obviously discern a happy Gakuto from a humiliated Gakuto. The boy was his doubles partner, after all.

Sadly, the Gakuto next to him was one of the latter.

"What's wrong, Gakuto?" Yuushi uncapped his water bottle and sipped daintily at it, keeping his eyes on the singles match between Hiyoshi and Jirou in front of him.

"Nothing," Gakuto insisted – again. He remained sulky. Oshitari realized that asking the question over and over would be annoying, but he wanted to know...

Yuushi sighed, ruffling Gakuto's hair _exactly_ the way that the petite redhead found most irritating. "Very well. Just come to me when you want to talk about it."

"I'm not a freaking child, Yuushi," Gakuto's nostrils flared in anger. "And don't do that! It ruins the symmetry!"

Yuushi suppressed a laugh. "Whatever you say."

"Oi, Oshitari," Atobe called from atop the bleachers. The doubles two pair craned their necks to look up at him. "Kantoku wants you in the office to help order our players for the practice matches with Seigaku and Fudomine next week." The aristocratic captain scoffed. "He insists that I am biased, which is absolutely not true – the fact is that I am the only match for Tezuka."

Gakuto's eyebrows raised, partially in amusement, partially something else. No, Atobe wasn't even a match for Tezuka. The only reason that he'd beat Seigaku's captain in the Kantou tournament was because Tezuka was injured beyond belief, and even then, Atobe had barely scraped a win.

But since when had Gakuto thought so supportively of Tezuka, even if...? Thinking badly of Atobe would ruin his loyalty to his own team. Gakuto grimaced. That should never happen again...

"And you must admit a Shishido-Tachibana rematch would be most intriguing...it would measure how much he's grown - "

"The word, Atobe, is _humiliating_, and it would only be that way to Shishido," Yuushi replied coolly. "You just want another chance to laugh at his shortcomings." He tossed his mane of navy blue hair, smirking. "It would seem that my unbiased genius is needed...I apologize, Gakuto. I promise I'll be back before you've had a chance to miss me."

"Yeah, because every second without you is painful," Gakuto snarked back, receiving a fond chuckle and yet _another_ hair ruffle for all his efforts. "Hey, I said not to do that!"

"Spare me the sap and hurry _up_, Oshitari," Atobe snapped.

"Yes, princess," Yuushi replied cheerfully, jogging up the bleachers and dodging the foot that came his way with practiced ease.

Gakuto laughed heartily just as Ootori called out, "Game and match, Akutagawa-senpai! 6-4!"

Hiyoshi glared from beneath his fringe of bangs and flipped his finger at the innocent acrobatic player.

* * *

**If I explained to you why this chapter is so late, the explanation would be longer than the story itself. I'm sorry, it won't happen again.**

**...I hope.**


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